Squires, Boston and the Zoopy Zoopy

Bill Squires may be the best marathon coach in U.S. history
By Scott Douglas As featured in the April 2011 issue of Running Times Magazine

Bill Rodgers' win at the 1979 Boston Marathon wasn't surprising. He was the defending champion and had already twice been ranked the top marathoner in the world. Soon after Rodgers finished, however, things got stranger. Third place, in 2:12, went to Bob Hodge, who had entered the race with a 2:28 PR. Less than 2 minutes behind Hodge, Randy Thomas placed eighth, followed closely in 10th place by a full-time mailman named Dick Mahoney. Like Hodge, Mahoney wore a white and red singlet reading "Greater Boston Track Club." Rodgers and Thomas were also Greater Boston members. In a race in which Rodgers set a new course and American record, his club of the last several years had placed four runners in the top 10. If you scored the race as a team event, Greater Boston, a seat-of-the-pants club with a minimal budget, would have beaten all other countries, including the rest of the Americans.

The club's coach, Bill Squires, was nowhere to be seen in the immediate aftermath of the 1979 race. The year before, as Rodgers was winning his second Boston, his coach was in the vicinity of Heartbreak Hill, en route to a 2:48 finish. Yet knowledgeable running fans knew what a large role in his runners' successes Squires had played. That's what Squires did, after all--take any and all comers and make them better runners. Some he made world-beaters. With Squires' guidance, Rodgers went from being a regionally good road racer in 1973 to a 2:19 marathoner in 1974 to a 2:09 runner the next year. Jacqueline Gareau, the 1980 Boston champ, was coached by Squires. Thomas, "a basketball player with a bad back," according to Squires, ran 2:11 in 1978. During the first running boom, the runners who sought Squires now read like the pantheon of American glory days: Alberto Salazar trained with Greater Boston while in high school. Under Squires' care, Dick Beardsley took a now-mature Salazar to the line at Boston in 1982. The next year, Squires guided Greg Meyer to victory in Boston, a win that has since made Meyer known almost solely as the last American man to win Boston. (It feels like part of his name now.) Runners who weren't official members of Greater Boston--Olympic marathoner Pete Pfitzinger, Olympic 10K runner Bruce Bickford, 1976 Boston winner Jack Fultz--maintained varying degrees of contact with Squires and his runners. During that first great wave of big-city marathoning and mushrooming road racing and American prowess, Squires was at the center of it all, orchestrating group track workouts, long runs over the Newton Hills and team trips around the country and world. No coach has approached the Squires record at Boston. Transport his runners to the present, and they would be competitive. In recent years, a series of top Americans has tried to liberate Meyer from his unwanted epithet. Yet, according to Squires, neither the runners nor their coaches have consulted the man whom Rodgers calls the best marathon coach in U.S. history. Squires mostly sits at home in his cluttered rambler in the working-class Boston suburb of Melrose. The living room overflows with tchotchkes and athletic memorabilia. In mid-December, the clocks were still on Daylight Savings Time. The kitchen houses a stack of empty ice cream containers. A 15-year-old cat is his most frequent companion. And the American drought at Boston continues. Everybody has a Bill Squires story. Many involve workouts written on Eliot Lounge cocktail napkins. In Dick Beardsley's, Squires lets Beardsley sleep in his motel bed the night before a race, and when Beardsley goes to the bathroom at 4:00 a.m., he sees Squires sleeping in the tub, covered by a towel. Greg Meyer tells how his then-wife said to another runner, "I'm starting to worry about Greg. He understands what Squires is saying." The reputation for inscrutability is deserved. Ask Squires when he ran his first marathon, and you'll hear about "donuts" (selfimportant, ignorant coaches) and "guppies" (locally good racers toyed with by roadwhoring national-class runners). You'll hear that, 50 years ago, basketball was "hooey dooey" (a minor sport). You'll hear about "Imbeciles Anonymous" (the first high school team he coached) and the "Lollipop 10K" (generic inconsequential road races). Bill Rodgers will be described as "the laziest man I ever met." There will even be a cryptic reference to downed U.S. spy plane pilot Gary Powers. But it won't be until 27 minutes after your question that you'll first hear the word "marathon." It will take another nine minutes to be sure that the preceding two-thirds of an

What you'll have is eight one-mile rest stops. About the teen Salazar. "If they started going on the loopy stuff. "He has his own language.723 detailed workouts reveal little that would have caused Rodgers' rivals to upend their training. But the program works. fine." he says. I always say. You don't need all the zoopy zoopy. I'm not into these practice runners. because he had been averaging under 130 miles a week. "A workout is an effort where you can control your speed. "On my Sunday runs. Squires says.) "I would have chosen not one of my athletes if I was recruiting for a Division I school. because they're better than you. he had everything going for him. For the most part I knew where he was going with it. Rodgers. I said." Beardsley was an anomaly among Squires' most successful runners in that he mostly trained alone. He has to do that. And then you'll have to go home and look up that he was 20th in 2:47. Hodge. 'Look pal. Rodgers experimented with a 200-mile week.hour has been the backstory to Squires running the 1961 Boston Marathon. The book's 1.' He must love seeing the birds and squirrels and all that crap. "Running is a simple sport. I'd do everything I'd done in the previous six days on that one run--surges. "You're wasting shoe leather. 160 miles a week. Then again. 'Go with Rodgers. he would have never gotten into Oregon. "Oh yeah. in those 22 or 24 miles. tempos. and then when you hit the hills. Nor did Beardsley or Meyer. "Squires communicated a lot with his hand gestures. it's the fastest they give the awards to. Squires thinks. "It's things you can handle. Before winning in 1978. she ran twelve 1200m repeats at 5K race pace. which about nobody does. "Zip! None! Even Meyer. He was a very bright kid--I thought he was going to go to med school.'" Before his first Boston victory in 1975. When I started running with the group. Beardsley. Yet Squires says he wasn't the impetus for this approach. None of you people would I pick to be outstanding. I spoke with several runners Squires coached three decades ago. even on recovery days. I never pushed them on distance. If you want to radio it out to the world they're going to kick your can." Hodge says. I'd get done that and if I'd nailed it. Three times he answered. and whistles." Adding to the Squires mystique is the quality of athletes he worked with. and get your little medal you bought. Speed with Endurance. that gave me so much confidence and strength. 125. boom. Squires told me." Moderation was key. didn't consistently run the mileage Rodgers did. Says Beardsley. ya hear me? You're only good with the group I trained. the cofounder of ZAP Fitness whom Squires coached to a 2:41 marathon PR." Squires says. Thomas … none were high school or college standouts the way that. say. These aren't just the tangents of a 78-year-old enjoying the chance to reminisce." Here's Squires' description of how his long runs differ from others': "I'll give you an 18-mile run. consisting almost entirely of schedules. not who can run all day. Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein were. If he hadn't come to me before college. Hodge." When I asked about some of his key principles. hill repeats. They always have more in their gun when they leave. "I had to pull him aside and give him the facts of life. So just shut your mouth!'" Squires is now more forthcoming. but he didn't believe in himself. Squires divided Greater Boston runners--which included all levels of runners--into three
. Rea says that Squires wanted her to incorporate pick-ups into every run. 'Let's see what we do on Saturday [in the race]." So when Rodgers became the genial face of the first running boom and started documenting his training for magazines. "'I said." Zika Rea." (Think how different American running would be if that had happened. the Cinderfellas. Squires bristled. and all paused or chuckled when I asked if they always understood what he wanted them to do. It's a game of speed." When he hears runners say how they're going to become world-class marathoners by holding 150-mile weeks for months on end. who want a Purple Heart for their workout. "My athletes. Another hallmark of the Squires model was group training." Hodge says. he doubted his fitness." but then drifted away without edifying me. we're just little nerds who are kicking the world around. done especially during long runs (and on the Newton Hills when preparing for Boston). Salazar says. then thrusts his right hand forward like a plane taking off. it's what he calls "pickups"--surges of anywhere from 1 minute to 5 miles. "We'd do things like mile repeats in 4:50 with a brisk 400 jog between.) "And then you'll respect the marathon. boom. In 2005 he and Boston University coach Bruce Lehane self-published a book. Squires took what was a necessity when coaching large high school and college teams and made it integral to his post-collegiate program." Squires says. who eventually ran 2:10:59. the other guys would translate for me. maybe 6:00 pace. That means you can control your form. Meyer says. "He looked like a broken down old man." I asked Squires three times if Rodgers could have been as successful running 90 miles a week. "If anybody raced a workout Squires immediately jumped on them. Now if you want to do 50-milers and 100-milers. But when the gun goes off in the marathon. I'll give you the hardest 18 miles that you'd ever want to do. boom!" (Here Squires slaps his right hand on his left palm. After one call. says she often got off the phone with him and didn't know what her next hard workout was supposed to be. "The workouts were really nothing special." Squires says. If there was a Squires specialty.

'" Despite the declines. you're nowhere. 'I beat Billy on those hill repeats. I said to the good Lord. at the lowest." Squires says. "Group 1 was 12 to 14 guys. it gave us a level of confidence. Regional-class runners formed Group 2. He made All-American three times. Squires ran 4:04.) Instead of exerting himself as little as possible." he says. You're running with guys like Billy [Rodgers] who are the best in the world. "If he had told me to go sit in a garbage can. "Dickie Mahoney ran faster than them!" More broadly. He knew because of his heart he should keep running.' "I totally believed everything he told me. he thinks top Americans are too coddled. bad storm.7." Squires was born in South Boston with a defective heart--one of the four valves is so narrow as to be nonfunctional. "I have to. and becomes more pronounced the more animated he becomes. Squires was versatile. "Without running I'd be long gone." Squires once called Beardsley at 9:30 on a Tuesday night.groups. Squires settled home in Massachusetts while waiting to hear about a sales job for Wilson Sporting Goods in California. two to three hours a day. with "therapists and massage people and nutritionists.6 for the quarter." Beardsley says. "Training the way we did. Bill Dellinger. His mother moved them to Arlington when he was 12 to be closer to the doctor who Squires says saved his life. he was a track star. "I got so fired up I wanted to go out for a 20-miler right then. I'll give up my license. If you get people to believe and if they're happy. He no longer drives." says Meyer. "One night. In Group 2. Squires was told to exercise. Jesus cripes! Without hunger. "I told him. as had been the advice." Squires says. "running is the most freakin' boring
. Squires says he was a "baby spy" and that part of his front was being in a unit known for its runners.7 for 220 yards and 47. Everyone else was in Group 3. they tend to do well.") These weren't groups of a few top runners training together." Nearing the end of his eighth decade. Squires still stands over 6 feet tall. Squires sensed this wasn't the way to maximize his potential. He runs five or six days a week. played football and basketball and other sports. "but I didn't tell them. Once out of the Army. Squires isn't a fan. I'd have done it." "One thing I took away from Squires. from now on you can't call me after 8:00. and his coach had him run multiple races most weekends. Out of college. 'If you get me home. with the rain and these ziggy roads up here that I run. but there was also some competition going on." Rodgers adds.'" Among current American groups. some of them made the jump to Group 1. he raced overseas while in the Army in the mid-to late 1950s. in his words. I think I'll try the marathon. after enough time with Squires. We all helped each other." he says. "Billy [Squires] got you fired up. he narrowly lost the NCAA mile championship to Salazar's future college coach. second or third in national championships. the Hansons program would seem the closest to the Greater Boston model. his best sport. As a sophomore in 1954. I don't remember Squires ever talking about times in the marathon. He ran. He only talked about strategy and beating people. everyone won New England titles. "All were. Runners of Rodgers' ilk were in Group 1. He had a small stroke in 2009 and a pacemaker inserted last December." Rodgers says. even for nobodies. 'Coach." Squires says. Squires is slightly stooped. With bests of 21. where you push each other. I get too excited. "is that there's a lot of different ways to get fit. "Maybe it's like what the Kenyans have now with their groups. I had a 3-plus. Greg [Meyer] is thinking. for the real slow ones. At Notre Dame. "My eyes are gone. ("In my mind." Beardsley says."
"I think the most important thing was his enthusiasm and passion. "They would have been my Group 2. A lifelong runner's calves are evident when he props up his legs. and because. In high school he was urged to focus on running. At a time when a sub-4:00 mile was world-class. so that he could earn a college scholarship. (The South Boston accent remains." Meyer says. oh geez.

" he says. Then your body can get the feel. a driving force behind the change. I know they still have life in them.' And then I'd say. "I think he made this up later in life.] Wonderful. not only does the machination seem unnecessary. In his first year coaching cross country. you better run the marathon. Without the top runners as magnets. when Greater Boston was formed.] 'No. one of the first letters he received was from Squires. In 1973. Squires would revert to his normal voice and call him out." In this case. Squires is an autodidact who prides himself on always being the sharpest guy in the room. He didn't care.000. They knew nothing. "these were the world's worst kids. laughing. when imitating the others. unless you want to go off with the gun and do your little bullshit thing that'll get you in the Boston Marathon fifth at best. we got a champion we didn't know about. he says. he would pretend he had missed the time for a repeat. and that's what you don't have. For example. I'd say." He clearly enjoys the thought of exploiting others' psychology to get his way. "I'm the coach. Went down to Rhode Island. If we have a flood the kid is sure to win. "I knew I wasn't really a distance runner. I was a swimmer. You don't have to be a speed demon but you have to do it. he would say. more casual organizations like Greater Boston lost their appeal to elites." His stories owe something to George Carlin routines in their depiction of mentally outmatched people. a little slow. "Bowerman didn't know horsecrap." he continued to compete. but some former runners doubt it's what was happening." Squires says. In his telling. While on road trips with Greater Boston. "Arthur learned more from me than I did from him." As shoe companies signed runners to national clubs." Of Bill Bowerman. They were useless! But American coaches were idiots. Coach. yeah. he was used to runners asking him to coach them. where in 18 years he produced 16 All-Americans. when Rodgers had received death threats for denouncing the Olympic boycott. Meyer. Squires' voice becomes slightly feminine.' [Back to Squires. Squires' team won the state title. "What Coach Squires did for me when I was in high school shows what kind of person he is. no. To find out whether Rodgers was going against his wishes and indulging in frequent races for money. That trait especially comes out when he talks about Rodgers.'" Squires says. one day Squires was running at Wakefield High School. take a hike. from training himself after college. he says.'" Squires also relates outing Rodgers in front of the group for would-be secret racing. "Now the sport was not just about friendships and aiming high and let's have fun and listen to Squires' crazy stories. Squires' heyday ended as open professionalism blossomed. "I have a thing with exercise physiologists. he says." After more state championships. If they can respond like that. When Rodgers would excitedly agree to run the race." But from Rodgers you'll hear only stories of fun and admiration and how Squires ran out on the course to hand him water bottles at Boston in 1980. pal!' "I'm a bitch. At track workouts. Meyer's 1983 Boston victory was his last coaching success at that level. Squires would pull phone pranks on his star runner. "Hold on fellas. Squires began coaching at Boston State College." he says. 'Aw geez. Salazar will say. beat the guppies.
. you get it? Yeah. About Arthur Lydiard. "You have to understand. "I was the experiment with everything. here's what I think. You need to be with my group on Tuesdays. They can't coach a cat to meow." says Rodgers. I got it. pretending to be a race director offering a hefty appearance fee. Half the time we'd look up at the end of a repeat and he'd be sitting in the stands reading the Boston Herald sports section. after a farm accident that almost cost him a leg." and then go back to the room and turn on the air conditioning." Squires devised this scheme: As the group was leaving the motel for dinner. he says. when he wanted to make sure his runners weren't working too hard. pal. "I told him. To be a marathon coach.sport. 'You ever run a marathon?' [He switches to his imitation voice. "When Bill first came to me. when some of the school's runners pleaded with him to become their coach. 'You need my coaching and you need a group to teach you how to run. and if I can win states with these kids … " He knew how to coach. Squires wasn't a recruiter. 'You ever freakin' do it again. "They'd go." Beardsley's voice will crack and he'll struggle to hold back tears when he tells how. coach of Steve Prefontaine. north of Boston. They only work with established runners. 'Hey guys. Squires added postcollegiate runners to his repertoire. I forgot something. Squires thought his runners slept better with the air conditioning running. you know. Inside was a check for $1. Coach! Hey Dickie. "It's a ploy. He once rolled a tennis ball over part of the Boston Marathon course to demonstrate to his runners the best way to run that hill. "I'd say. and evokes someone standing with their eyes and mouth a little too open. Often the ruses seem overly clever. He took a lot of flak from others for letting me train with his group. Instead of simply saying. because that's a speed thing. Made a few bucks. his system of moving runners through his groups until they were national-class fell apart. says. He often had no idea what we were doing. "That golden era seemed to undergo a change." Squires is the rare person who is meaner in his stories than he's portrayed by others. I got the crapbums of all time.